Tag: productivity

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Positive Thinking Productivity Time strategies Wellness

Holiday time: Avoid these pitfalls for peace AND productivity

Last time we talked about the stress so many of us feel approaching the festive period, aspiring for everything to be so ‘perfect’ whilst often neglecting our own wellbeing, and that of our friends and family, and how its so easy for this wonderful time to feel like a diversion from ‘work’.

Spending time away from the distraction of the phone ringing and emails pinging and instead focusing on planning, prevention, capability improvement and relationship building will lead to a clearer vision and a more fulfilled life, allowing you to enjoy more control and fewer crisis situations.  How valuable would spending some time on self-renewal and tasks that inspire and uplift you be, not only to your work life, but your overall wellbeing? By having your intention top of mind, you avoid wasting that precious time on autopilot and build that self-worth by actually achieving something.

For maximum productivity:

  • Set Boundaries. It’s all about the quality. Quality time off means real time off, not time off cleaning the house from top to bottom, just in case your guests notice that speck of dust, or catching up on the ironing mountain. It’s not about sneaking in work while the kids are playing in the living room (you know who you are.) You might have to be assertive in assigning some “me-time”.  Humans aside, setting boundaries can also involve setting some rules with the gadgets in your life, too. Thanks to technology, we are never far from emails and social media…all the things that link us back to work and, if we’re not careful, sneakily suck us back into the work environment. Allow yourself total radio silence on those work emails and focus on the quality of a few hours peace to focus on family and friends.  While we’re distracting ourselves with modern technology, we aren’t experiencing that all-important quality time. It’s just time!
  • Be off balance, on purpose. Some will say it’s about balance; balance in work and non-work, balance in activity-filled time and total down-time.  I say it’s about knowing what you really want, and really need, and honoring that. It’s about clearly understanding yourself, your priorities, and your body, mind, and spirit. It’s about deciding to be off balance, on purpose. Be where you are when you are there. And have a plan to recall what you want to do when you emerge from being present with your family/yourself, so you don’t “forget” about work related items.

Downtime (time “off”) is as much about caring for your body as it is your mind. And, if you still need some persuading, think of the favor you are doing your boss (who of course might be YOU) by taking time off.  Sound counter-intuitive?  Ask yourself, would your boss rather have an employee who is relaxed, refreshed, recharged and (yep…the “P” word) productive, or one that is exhausted, stressed and drained?  It really is a no-brainer, isn’t it?

I wish you peace, joy, productivity, and of course lots of turkey. Yes, you can have it all.  Just not all at once…

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Productivity productivity in the workplace Time strategies vacation Wellness

The sublime art of slowing down

Last week we discussed the benefits of a summer vacation. But what about when you don’t want to work AT ALL in summer? What about when you have children and you are trying to also run a company? Scroll to the bottom to address this tricky issue.

First, let’s address the real benefits of slowing down. Why does this work so well when we are addressing productivity?

Slowing down gives space to our subconscious, letting our intuition come to conclusions in a less logical way.  Letting our creativity flow is a big step towards being more productive, after all, we are human beings, not robots.  Our productivity doesn’t depend on speed and efficiency, it depends on our creativity, intuition and innovation, and these things need space to flourish.  Nothing shuts down inspiration faster than forcing it.  Yup, it’s counterintuitive.

Creativity is everything.  Many jobs can be exported, and have been, to people who can work for far lower pay than us.  The only thing that truly sets you apart is your creativity and innovation.  Creativity stems from connections between disparate ideas, but unless you have explored a variety of experiences, you will not have anything to draw from.  Going on vacation or simply taking some time off work provides a wealth of novelty to spur creativity.

When we slow down and give ourselves time to think, we notice the difference between getting things done and getting the RIGHT things done (and doing them well).

“It’s only when we start asking ourselves questions like “what am I actually doing here?”, that thinking time starts to feel productive”

The human body and mind need breaks and vacations to provide rest and benefits that have a much greater influence on success and happiness than clocking in overtime at work. Overworking yourself isn’t going to make you more likely to succeed.  If anything, it may make you resent your work, lower its quality, and negatively impact your happiness.

OK, so, maybe it’s your situation that you are an entrepreneur with kids home for the summer. Yikes, what do you do?

This is not easy! Camp is expensive. Running kids around or trying to work with loud and needy kids in your home is far worse though.  You may be thinking “I’ll just take the summer off.”

Here are some items to consider:

  1. Can you afford to take the summer “off”? Do you need the cash flow? If you stop working, how will this affect your workflow/cash flow in the fall?
  2. Get real. Even if you take 4 weeks off of the 8-10 weeks, doing so purposefully is a much better strategy.

I work all summer.  I also take vacation.  As my children grow, their needs change.  Being real about what you expect is critical – boundaries come into play here.  Our children love to push our boundaries, and we don’t do what we “should” do.  We do what we value.

This is tricky! We will talk more about this in our July Lunchtime Love.   Also feel free to email me at Carol@eps-time.com to untangle the web of conflicting voices in your head….

Be amazing, be bold, rest well!

Carol

 

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Productivity Time strategies vacation Wellness

Be strategic this summer, but not in the way you might be thinking

Summer. Beach and a book. Or is it?

I live in the Northeast. It’s “bad sledding” time right about now (you think I am kidding? Seriously, we had snow a lot in April….)

This article focuses on Strategic Summer. What’s that? Well, here’s what I find. When we are working and it’s 80 degrees and gorgeous out, we want to be outside. We are dreaming about vacations.  We are NOT being productive.  Counter this with being on vacation, phone and laptop in tow. Are we really on vacation? Ummm, nope. We are being in ambivalence. We have one leg on either side of the fence. And you know what? If you fall down, that HURTS! Ouch!

So, the message is: (1) be present and (2) slow down to speed up. How?

When you do not use your vacation time (or as an entrepreneur, your “time off” includes only sick time, running around your family time, continuing education time, etc. and not “what lights you up” time), you are not allowing your mind to recharge.  How does a worn down battery operate? Our minds are not that different. We are NOT machines.

I have a challenge for you.

After you find your week of vacation, add 2 long weekends.  Make them a stretch; something you said you would do “someday.”

Ready?

Go! And get ready to watch your productivity climb like crazy!

Rest well and be productive.

Carol

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More time in my day multitasking prioritize Productivity Time strategies

A new viewpoint when considering how to “Take Charge of Your Time.”

Time…how do you define it? Here are 2 terms referring to TIME.

Chronos or Kairos? What does this mean to you, if anything? Are we in ancient Greece yet? How are these two Time Definitions affecting my productivity?

The difference profoundly affects how we live our lives.

When we think about time in the abstract, or Chronos, there’s not generally a sense of urgency. While this can be helpful in some cases, it can also be a breeding ground for procrastination. Conversely, Kairos embodies time in our lives. Kairos says, “if I want to ‘be successful’ at my job, I need to nail down what means, and take some action as my first step.”

When reading studies by psychologists, there are 2 kinds of regret based on the age of the subject being interviewed. People their 20s regretted poor choices that got them into trouble or caused embarrassment. These range from cheating on exams to romantic interests/failures. As a result, the younger set seeks to avoid risks so that they are in the “safe zone.” Conversely, people in their 70s and 80s regretted not taking MORE chances. Their mantra is “do it while you can.” Perhaps they wanted to switch careers or learn to tap dance, but they did not act. They see the value of acting when the time is ripe.

The lesson in this? You guessed it. We’re talking about the value of goal setting, and more importantly, step-by-step goal ACHIEVING. We all have “Chronos” in our lives. Chronos tells us there will be a time to do this or that. And, he is right. There will be. But Kairos reminds us that if we wait forever, we’ll look back and wonder what happened. We might even find ourselves saying,

“Where did the time go?”

If you are ready to put Chronos in his place, and start taking action for a change, please read the article below, download the 7 steps to success, or call me for a complimentary time breakthrough session.

Finish 2016 with the pride in knowing you are poised for an even more successful 2017. I know you can.

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EpS Events Get Organized GO system More time in my day prioritize Productivity productivity in the workplace Time strategies

Did someone say “interruptions”?

early bird speaker
early bird speaker

Recently, I had the true pleasure of presenting one of my signature talks, “4 Ways to Produce More While Staying Sane” to a fine group of Human Resource Professionals at the Granite State HR conference in Manchester, New Hampshire.

 

Here’s a INTERRUPTION STOPPER snippet from a workshop I gave to the VT Recreation and Parks Department, click here.

 

One issue that everyone related to – loud and clear- was the apparent disconnect between “saying no” (i.e. not being interrupted) and providing excellent customer service.

 

When most people “want something”, they want it immediately. Few have the self-discipline to add it to a list or to a schedule, and then wait for the right time. Now, if a person has sliced his finger and blood is gushing uncontrollably, immediate action is the only choice.  Most questions are not blood gushing, hospital-rushing ER questions, but, they are treated this way.

 

The late Steve Covey called this living in Quadrant One, “Firefighting.” Our instant-messaging, texting, constant-scroll email culture has exacerbated this issue many-fold. This immediacy becomes our normal, and we no longer have the ability to discern immediate needs from everything else.

 

What’s the issue? Well, there is no issue if you are an ER technician or a firefighter. That’s your job! If, however, you are a MANAGER then this can pull you off track again and again until you find yourself (metaphorically) in Kansas, asking, ”how did this happen?” The answer is…inch by inch.

 

The good news is that you can take back your work life. This workshop is jam packed with tips and strategies, but here are some to get you started:

  1. Work on one thing at a time.
  2. Establish a daily default priority.
  3. Ask your interrupter, “can I get a headline?”

 

These all sound so simple. Ask yourself, are you doing all three? If not, why not? Well, because it’s Not Easy! Here’s a little more about each tip:

  1. One thing at a time: The power of focus is not to be underestimated. At this workshop, we did an exercise proving that working on more than one thing at a time reduced participants’ productivity by OVER HALF. Would you like to double your productivity? Try doing one thing at a time. I dare you.
  2. Daily Default Priority: I know you will do more than one thing in a day. You’ll do a lot more. But how often have you had “that project” that you’ve managed to…skirt around again and again? Keep it simple, keep it clear, write it down, do this exercise every morning and every night. Commit to doing that one thing. And you know what? It WILL get done!
  3. “Can I get a headline?”: This is a great response to all those people who ask the dreaded question….”Got a minute?” That minute turns into an hour- or more -when you then need to do the follow-up, right? And what happened to the project on which you were working? When you ask this question, it causes the interrupter to think before throwing information or questions at you. One s/he summarizes, you can then decide, do I ask him or her to return later, or, is this issue more pressing than my current work? There is POWER IN THE PAUSE.

 

The three tips will get you started back down the path to productivity, taking back control of your workday. Contact me today if you’d like to learn more about how she can infuse motivation, participation, and productivity back into YOU and/or YOUR TEAM. I’d be honored to help boost you to levels you never dreamed possible.

 

With warm regards,

Carol

Your Productivity Coach

 

book-carol-now

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Get Organized More time in my day prioritize procrastination Productivity

Dreaming to Doing: The How

For those of you who may have missed my article in the January Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce newsletter, here’s a timely reminder in MARCH for what we may have intended in January!

 

WHAT is the issue?

 

New Year’s resolutions don’t work. You know that.  Some statistics:

Resolution maintained through first week 75%
Past two weeks 71%
Past one month 64%
Past six months 46%

Source: http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

 

But, why? We are intelligent and successful leaders. Why do we have a DISCONNECT between Intention and Action?

 

Answer: It’s our brains. It’s how we are wired. But, here’s the good news. We can outsmart our brains.

 

SO WHAT?

 

With everything to gain, and much to lose, it’s worth another look at the “right way” to not only plan, but to design a system that enables you and your team to (really) follow though this time. Without consistent and reliable methods for follow-through, your team will lose momentum, become disengaged, and possibly disgruntled. A disengaged team barely scratches the surface of productivity, whereas a highly engaged and motivated team knows no limits.

 

What if, after many tries of fording an impossible stream, someone built a bridge? Would you ford the stream again? It’s doubtful. What do you have to lose? To gain?

Screen Shot 2016-02-22 at 9.22.09 AM

Want this bridge? Read on.

 

NOW WHAT?

 

How do we outsmart our brains, then, to go from “Dreaming” to “Doing”? It’s simple, but it’s not easy. If it were easy, we’d find different statistics.

 

Simply Successful Steps:

 

  1. Be certain. Envision your end result, with the caveat that you truly believe you can achieve your goal(s). Half-hearted beliefs are doomed to failure.

 

  1. Keep it super simple. A big mistake is to plan for more than three goals. One to three is ideal. “Less is more” after all.

 

  1. Believe through the bumps. There will be bumps, but reminding yourself of successes will breed more successes. Honor and celebrate, and expect the bumps. A deep and meaningful “why” is paramount.

 

  1. Really remember the reminders. What reminds you of “what you were going to do”? Some use a vision board. Some visualize daily. Create small “if/then” habits (hint: this is a “brain trick.” For example, “IF I open a new browser window THEN I will ask myself what my highest priority of the day is.”)

 

  1. Consistently. You must commit to a small step, at least every other day. This creates habit and momentum. It’s also known as Deliberate Practice, which is another way to re-train your brain.

 

  1. Get support. No “man is an island.” Humans are gregarious by nature, and in general, find greater success in personal accountability. Try https://www.stickk.com/, a mastermind group, or a coach. Even announcing your goal (personal or professional) on Facebook can help!

 

Above all, take heart:

 

According to a 2015 study by the Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island, we can “rebuild our willpower muscle.” Like any muscle however, it must be trained.

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